How to Drop a Class on an Academic Budget and Schedule

By Michael Bednarsky

Arts & Entertainment Editor

If you organize how each class with help you graduate and/or transfer, you will find ways to work harder in the courses you take. Reduce stress, and envision your goals at all times!
Image courtesy of www.college-warehouse.com

Before you can drop a class, you have to first be enrolled in one. Students at various universities and colleges across the planet know how tedious the process of signing up for classes can be.

HCC students, regardless of tenure length, are aware that reserving course spots ahead of time is an intelligent move. If you sign up early via the Registrar desk, you avoid the congestion that builds up between semesters; the dreaded panic mode for unpunctual students. If you register online, you immediately get to pick your classes and pay; there is no confrontation.

Then again, the Internet option of choosing to take a class without paying only guarantees that you are penciled in; your spot can be handed to somebody else. Another student can align their finances first and sweep the rug out from under you, forcing a rearrangement of what you will plan to do.

Of course, you all know this already, because the dilemma is not surrounding that you secured any classes, but instead if you actually want to complete them.

The basic information about dropping a class is located under the “Registrar’s Office” tab on the Housatonic Community College website.

If you wish to drop a class shortly after a semester begins, it’s fairly easy. Students deserve to have that option readily available to them, in case a class does not assist their career as originally envisioned. Alternatives are abound: some courses have surplus editions with different professors, and some majors have several ways to achieve the credits for your overall goal (of course, including the core requirements).

You have a little under two months to drop a class without repercussions. That’s a sufficient amount of leeway to muse on if you are willing to bang out the remainder of any class you are stressing about. If you drop out of a class within the first two weeks of a semester, you are removed from the class roster; just like that.

The next span is the “Automatic Withdrawal Period” (third to sixth week of the semester), built to allow a student to drop a class without having to give an inkling of notice to the HCC staff or officials. Your mid-term and final exam grades will have a ‘W’ so that your records will indicate that you did not fail the class.

Then there’s the tricky part: once you enter week seven of the given semester, you will receive an ‘F’ if you make the decision to drop. This time-frame marks the last layer of weeks for you to drop, because you are no longer allowed to after week twelve. Nobody can force you to participate in a class, but you will ultimately fail the course by snubbing it from that point on. That will eat away at your G.P.A. (grade point average), thus hurting the overall continuity of your career at HCC.

Also, financial woes enter the equation. You may not be reimbursed for your original payment for the class. Refer to the Registrar further for more information, as each situation is different depending on the financial aid ratio/record of the student, and some courses have separate policies.

In some circumstances, you may just want to stick it out. If you are upset about a course, but completing it will facilitate your goal, then just grin and bear the scenario. Visualize yourself at the next step of your career. For example, if you are transferring to another college in due time, you should become determined to acquire as many credits as possible to go to your “dream school.”

On the other hand, it is never too late for you to change your focus altogether. College education routes may be recommended for a plentiful life (financially), but you do not have to pursue them!

Simply put, go forth with the situation if it will help you in the long run. Do not make the assumption that you will not like a course without allowing sufficient time for your analysis. Keep track of how your psyche reacts to your environment, and if you must opt out, just be sure to do it correctly. Develop a self-ultimatum, to push the length of your limits and possibilities.

Good luck, and enjoy your journey, regardless of what you decide to do!

Additional information on these matters can be found at our establishment’s official Registrar Office web-page.